The Shukal

Only one thing will keep you alive on the cold, barren plains the Urdaggar call home: Tribe. Individuals quickly perish in the barren flatlands and chilly forests. By themselves, they are prey for the many wild animals that roam the wilderness north of “civilized” nations.
The Tribes of the Urdaggar thrive, however. The peoples of the Urdaggar formed communities long before the Krai Jan invaded the shores of Isarshael and pushed the indigenous Faelers out of their ancestral homes and to the bleak lands beyond the Dorsang Danar and the Moonshadow Mountains.
They adapted and endured not one but two Empires. Then they survived an internal crisis where many of their fellow tribespeople decided to forsake the nomadic and austere life they had known and war against the Traazorites, creating the Kingdoms of Falkaar, Haradel, and Thormenal.
Through this, however, the Tribespeople of the Urdaggar retained their identity, totem gods, and way of life for several thousand years. This way of life remained primarily unchanged except for the assistance of the Kuzaarik Confederation when they were first driven north by the Krai Jan Empire. Even then, the survival knowledge shared by the Confederation was absorbed by the Tribes even as the attempt to “civilize” was stoutly resisted the Urdaggar.  The Tribes leaned on a strong sense of shared identity and culture to shrug off attempts to make them into something they weren't, even if they adopted methods to help them cope with their new home.
Many scholars of the “civilized” Feeler nations have wondered for years why the resistance to change is so strong among their distant kin and how the tribespeople have been able to keep a solid cultural identity that is both shared by the tribes as a whole and individual customs that are unique to each Tribe and sometimes each Clan.
Many facets of Urdaggar culture help keep their identity intact. However, one of the most important cultural milestones is the Shukal - Little Clan.
The Shukal is a coming-of-age experience that almost every Urdaggar youth, regardless of Tribe, will experience. It is one of the most critical times in the young life of an Urdaggar child, not just because it informs their development as a warrior and member of the Tribe at large, but because it cements in the young tribeperson’s psyche the meaning and purpose of Tribe and Clan specific to their totem.
Shukal is a season-long experience, starting when the spring thaws melt the snow enough that travel is possible again. At this time, all youth who will experience Shukal are led off into the wilderness by their Lirta (Guide), a Tribal Mystic whose purpose is to guide the young of the Tribe into a better understanding of themselves and their Clan, and a Girmorat, a seasoned warrior of the Clan whose job is to teach the ways of war to the young ones and to look after the Lirta, whom the clans consider a treasure.
How a young person relates to the Tribe and their transition from youth to adulthood is a process that will culminate after the Shukal during the Ha’adutan (The Proofs), a final test of a young person’s prowess, knowledge, and devotion to the Totem, Tribe, and Clan.
There is no specific age for the Shukal. A youth is deemed ready by the Tribe and by their parents. It marks the end of a young person’s reliance on their parents, though that bond will remain strong throughout life, and the responsibilities to each other will remain until the parent’s death.
While on Shukal, the young tribespeople will have little or no contact with the rest of the Clan, and their Lirta will guide them into the wilderness. Often a Lirta chooses an area that is sacred to the Clan or Tribe, and the youth will have to show their knowledge and skills by setting up shelters and living life in the way of their Tribe.
Youth on the Shukal will live, hunt, eat, sleep, and fight as a unit for almost a year when the winter snows begin to fall again. The Lirta will then lead the group back to their Clan’s winter camp to confirm their eligibility to become full members of their Clan in the Ha’adutan.
Of course, each Tribe’s Shukal will look different and impart different knowledge and values. Each Clan’s Shukal can be different, even among the same Tribe. As much as each of the Tribes are Urdaggar, there are vast differences in beliefs, practices, and cultures.
The Lirta’s job is to not only guide these young people and gently push them in the correct ways to live as Urdaggar, but they imbue them with the knowledge and history of their peoples, teaching them and allowing them to participate in rites that only the adults of their Tribe would be allowed to.
By spending this year on their own, the young people of the Tribe form an impenetrable bond with each other and those who came before them in the Shukal. This experience, both spiritual and physical, unites them in purpose and practice with the rest of their Tribe.
Of course, the Shukal is not without its dangers, and some youths do not make it back to their Clan. During this time, they must brave the wilderness of the northern plains and its many predators, which include other Clan’s Shukal.
Fighting is a normal part of a Shukal. The youth will raid other Shukal camps for plunder, learn to skirmish over hunting grounds, and may even raid neighboring kingdoms, especially if the Shukal are from the Tribes of Ruin.
The main lessons of the Shukal are unity in purpose, unity in struggle, and unity in pride. They learn personal freedom in the ways of their people, both sufferings and triumphs. The hardships of the Shukal are shared not just by the young people but by the Lirta and Girmorat as well, who does not take any special privileges that the young people have been deprived of. The Lirta and Girmorat will live, hunt, fight, and die alongside their charges, using each experience over the season to bond them to each other, their totem, and their Clan.
On the Shukal, many young people will discover their place in the Tribe. Many a young mystic is found during the long days and nights of the Shukal, as the shared experience will bring their powers and connection to their totem to the fore. Warriors with exceptional ferocity, skill, or even special devotion are often discovered during the Shukal. Those with archery skills will become immediately apparent as they will be relied upon in hunting and battle.
The Yarta (youth) who leave in the spring come back in the autumn as Minvir (adults) and are ready to face the hardships of the Ha’adutan. They will have learned much during the season, gained physical and emotional scars, and are prepared to take their place among the other adults who went through the same trials as they did.